Review and Testing of ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO Motherboard
In our review, we will take a look at the ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard. We will explore the main features and capabilities of this motherboard, as well as perform performance testing in several popular games.
| APPEARANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS |
This subsection of our review reveals the main aspects of ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO, such as appearance and hardware configuration.
| ASUS ROG BRAND HISTORY |
Asus ROG (Republic of Gamers) is one of the most famous brands of gaming devices in the world. The brand was created by Asus in 2006 and has since become popular among gamers and game enthusiasts. The history of the Asus ROG brand began in 2005, when Asus decided to focus on creating products for gamers. The company has noticed that players need high-quality devices with fast performance, high data transfer rates and additional features to enhance the gaming experience.
In 2006, Asus launched the ROG brand, which has become the flagship product line for gamers. ROG offered a suite of products including motherboards, graphics cards, monitors, headphones, keyboards and mice. The first products released under the ROG brand were motherboards. They have been specially designed for gamers who want the best performance and stability when playing PC games. ROG motherboards had many features, including support for Intel and AMD processors, multiple graphics card slots, multiple USB ports, high-speed data transfer, and an integrated sound processor.
The first product under the Asus ROG brand was the Crosshair motherboard introduced in 2006. It was developed specifically for the AMD platform and was based on the NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI chipset. The Crosshair motherboard was aimed at gamers and enthusiasts, offering maximum performance and fine tuning options. In the same year, the Maximus motherboard was released, based on the Intel X48 chipset. Today, ROG has motherboards for both Intel and AMD processors, including Maximus, Strix, and Formula models.
In 2007, Asus ROG launched the first G1 laptop, which offered high performance and was equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 7700 discrete graphics. This was the starting point for the development of the Asus ROG gaming laptop line. Today, ROG offers a large selection of gaming laptops, including the Zephyrus, Strix, and Scar models.
In 2011, the company released the first graphics accelerator under the ROG brand - Matrix GTX 580. This graphics card had a unique design and offered many options for overclocking and performance optimization. Since then, many graphics cards have been released, including the ROG Strix, Poseidon and Matrix series based on graphics chips from NVIDIA and AMD.
Asus ROG also offers monitors with high resolutions, fast response times and support for G-Sync and FreeSync technologies to synchronize the frame rate with the graphics card. Popular models include the ROG Swift PG278Q, the first 144Hz G-Sync monitor introduced in 2014, and the ROG Swift PG348Q, an ultra-wide curved monitor launched in 2016.
In 2018, Asus ROG entered the smartphone market with the ROG Phone, which was specifically designed for mobile gaming. The model was equipped with a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and cooling based on a water chamber. Since then, the company has continued to release new versions of its gaming smartphones such as the ROG Phone 2, ROG Phone 3, and ROG Phone 5.
In addition to smartphones, Asus ROG also makes accessories for gamers, including gaming mice, keyboards, headsets, uninterruptible power supplies, and even chairs. Popular models include the ROG Spatha gaming mouse, the ROG Claymore mechanical keyboard, and the ROG Strix Fusion headset.
Asus ROG also offers network hardware specifically designed for gamers who value stable and fast connections. Router models such as the ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 and ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 offer powerful features and tools to optimize network traffic and reduce latency.
The Asus ROG brand continues to establish itself as a market leader in gaming equipment and electronics. From motherboards to smartphones and accessories, the company strives to satisfy the most demanding gamers with powerful and reliable products that combine innovation, performance and style.
| APPEARANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS |
The box is made in the style of ASUS ROG, which further emphasizes its belonging to this brand. It is made in black and red colors and decorated with graphic elements displaying ROG symbols.:
The ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X570E HERO motherboard has a stylish look that combines black and red tones with spectacular LED lighting, which can be customized with dedicated lighting control software.
Designed with gamers in mind, ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard offers impressive features for optimal thermal management and maximum system performance. Massive heatsinks for the VRM, chipset and M.2 modules ensure efficient cooling of the components, even under intense workloads, ensuring system stability for long periods of time.
ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO features four DDR5 DIMMs that support a maximum capacity of up to 64GB and a frequency of up to 6400MHz for maximum system performance. For the file subsystem, the motherboard supports three M.2 PCIe 5.0/4.0 x4 slots and six SATA 6Gb/s ports.
In addition, the motherboard comes with a PCIE 5.0 expansion card that supports two high-speed NVMe, expanding storage options and providing quick access to them.
ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO is a next-generation motherboard that's ready for today's gaming and computing power challenges. It is equipped with the latest AMD Socket AM5 which supports AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors.
Socket AM5 is a new socket created by AMD for the next generation of Ryzen processors. This connector has a higher transfer rate and higher power, which allows you to use more powerful processors and system components, which helps to achieve maximum performance in games and other tasks.
ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO is a motherboard that is designed to work with powerful multi-threaded AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors. To ensure reliable operation of such processors, the motherboard is equipped with a highly reliable power supply system with 16 power modules.
This power supply system is specifically designed to provide maximum stability and performance when using processors with high power consumption. It provides a stable voltage to the processor and other system components, which contributes to maximum performance and prevents damage to components during power surges.
The 16 power modules that are used in the power supply system guarantee efficient power distribution between the system components and ensure maximum system stability. What's more, this power system provides greater efficiency and energy savings, which is an important factor for efficient and environmentally friendly gaming systems.
The ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard offers a wide range of ports and interfaces on the rear panel, making it the perfect choice for gamers and professionals looking for high performance and maximum functionality.
One of the main features of the rear panel is the presence of an HDMI port and four USB4 Type-C ports with a bandwidth of 40 Gb / s. This allows various devices, such as high-resolution monitors or external drives, to be connected to the motherboard and high-speed data transfer between them.
In addition, the motherboard is also equipped with Wi-Fi 6E and 2.5G Ethernet interfaces, which provide maximum network data transfer speed. This allows you to ensure high performance when playing online games or working with high-quality video and audio content.
The ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard offers a convenient layout of ports and interfaces for easy connection and maximum performance of system components. In particular, 6 SATA 6Gb/s ports and one USB 3.0 port are arranged very compactly along the end plate, which ensures minimal use of space inside the system case and ease of installation and maintenance.
ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO is a new generation motherboard that offers a host of features for maximum performance and ease of use. Some of these features are a digital display for post codes, a power button and a Flex Key.
The digital display for post codes provides users with information about the stage of system boot and helps to identify possible problems that may arise during the installation or operation of the system. This display provides accurate and reliable information about the boot process, allowing you to quickly identify and resolve problems that may arise.
In addition, the power button and Flex Key are also important features of the ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard. The power button provides quick and easy access to system power, allowing the user to instantly turn the system on or off. The Flex Key, on the other hand, is a programmable button that can be configured to launch various applications and features, providing the ultimate user experience.
NVMe PCIe 5.0, located under the processor socket. This connector provides fast and reliable data transfer between the processor and the drive, allowing you to build systems with high speed and performance.
However, no less important is the presence of a heatsink and thermal pads on the NVMe PCIe 5.0 connector, which ensure optimal temperature and maximum performance when the system is running. The radiator is able to actively cool the drive and prevent it from overheating, which in turn guarantees stable operation of the system and increased performance during use.
Thermal pads, in turn, serve to improve heat transfer between the heat sink and the drive, which further increases the efficiency of the system. This is especially important when working with high-load applications and tasks that require high performance and fast data transfer.
| UEFI |
UEFI BIOS is a modern motherboard firmware standard that replaces the traditional BIOS. It provides an improved interface, graphical environment, and advanced system customization options. Graphical User Interface: The UEFI BIOS has an intuitive GUI with mouse support, making it easy to navigate and configure settings.
Overclocking: The UEFI BIOS offers advanced options for overclocking the CPU, RAM, and graphics card. This includes changing multipliers, bus voltages and frequencies, as well as options for memory overclocking.
System Health Monitoring: The UEFI BIOS allows you to monitor temperature, fan speeds and system voltages in real time. Options for setting fan curves and temperature limits are also provided.
Boot Setup: The UEFI BIOS offers flexible boot options, including boot device selection and boot priority. Save and Load Profiles: The UEFI BIOS allows you to save and load profiles with BIOS settings to quickly switch between different configurations. Secure Boot Support: The UEFI BIOS supports the Secure Boot feature, which provides protection against malware at the operating system boot level.
Firmware Upgrade: The UEFI BIOS supports the ability to upgrade the firmware using a flash drive or over the Internet. This allows you to update the BIOS to fix bugs, improve stability, and improve compatibility with new components.
Integration with System Configuration Utilities and Programs: The UEFI BIOS on ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO integrates with utilities and programs such as ASUS AI Suite and ASUS Armory Crate, allowing you to optimize and configure the system directly from the operating system.
Support for various motherboard features: The UEFI BIOS supports features specific to this motherboard model, such as configuring RGB lighting, USB connectors and other interfaces, as well as the ability to enable or disable individual controllers and devices.
| ASUS PBO Enhancement |
However, maximum temperatures only occur when running a workload that uses all the processor cores. In everyday work, including gaming and small tasks, the temperature of the processor is usually much lower.
ASUS has released a BIOS update for X670 and B650 motherboards that adds Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) enhancements to help users balance temperature and performance. The PBO Enhancement BIOS makes it easy to limit temperatures when running multi-threaded workloads.
To access this option in the UEFI BIOS, you must activate the advanced mode and go to the Extreme Tweaker tab. There, you can select Precision Boost Overdrive and adjust the PBO enhancement using a drop-down menu that allows you to select your preferred temperature level.
Precision Boost Overdrive Auto 95°
Precision Boost Overdrive 90°
In the menu, select "Enhance" in the Precision Boost Overdrive list and select one of the three preset temperature limits. Level 1 will set the maximum target temperature to 90° Celsius, which is a small step down from the default of 95° Celsius. Levels 2 and 3 lower the maximum CPU temperature more aggressively, to 80° and 70° Celsius respectively. In the last review, we showed that the PBO Level 1 improvement allows you to reduce the temperature by 5°C and maximize system performance, and the CPU temperature limit is reduced to 90 degrees. However, using the PBO Level 2 or 3 enhancement allows you to lower the temperature even further, but may result in performance degradation compared to the default value of 95° Celsius.
Thus, the use of PBO Enhancement BIOS allows users to more accurately control the temperature of the processor and improve system performance when performing multi-threaded tasks. Which enhancement level to choose depends on the specific needs of the user and the requirements of the workload.
| ACCELERATION |
Modern processor overclocking is an art that requires deep knowledge and experience, because modern processors are already on sale with the highest possible frequencies. However, some users may try to increase the frequency of the processor in search of even more performance, but improper overclocking can harm the hardware and degrade the system.
One way to improve system performance is to use high frequency, low latency RAM. For example, 6000MHz DDR5 memory with low latency can greatly improve system performance. However, it must be remembered that improper memory overclocking can lead to an increase in temperature and reduce the stability of the system.
To illustrate the change in system performance at various RAM frequencies, an AIDA64 cache and memory test was performed using DDR5 4800/5200/5600/6000 memory frequencies. From the test results, it can be seen that the best results are obtained when using DDR5 6000 memory.
| TEST PART |
| Test configuration | |
| test stands |
ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD 1 TB - the optimal solution for testing different configurations 32GB DDR5 5600 KingstonFURY Beast |
| multimedia equipment | |
| Software configuration |
|
| operating system | Windows 10 21H2/ Windows 11(Alder Lake) |
| Graphics driver |
Nvidia GeForce/ION Driver Release 531.41 WHQL |
| Monitoring programs |
MSI Afterburner |
| GAMES |
| Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered |
Testing took place at maximum quality settings and with ray tracing.
In Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered on a system with a Ryzen 9 7950X processor and an ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard, the increase in memory and system bus frequency increases.
The biggest performance increase in Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered comes from moving from DDR5 4800 at 2400 MHz FSB to DDR5 5200 at 2600 MHz FSB, resulting in an increase in average FPS from 82 to 89 and minimum FPS from 91 to 95 Increasing the memory frequency to DDR5 5600 and DDR5 6000 also gives a performance increase, but less noticeable.
| Cyberpunk 2077 |
Testing took place at maximum quality settings and with ray tracing.
The biggest performance increase comes from moving from DDR5 4800 with a 2400 MHz FSB to DDR5 5200 with a 2600 MHz FSB, resulting in an increase in average FPS from 78 to 85 and minimum FPS from 96 to 102. Increasing the memory frequency to DDR5 5600 and DDR5 6000 also provides a performance increase, but less noticeable.
Overall, the system based on the Ryzen 9 7950X processor and ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard demonstrates high performance in the Cyberpunk 2077 game when using high-frequency DDR5 memory and the corresponding system bus.
| Gotham Knights |
Testing was carried out at maximum quality settings.
The biggest performance increase in Gotham Knights comes from moving from DDR5 4800 at 2400 MHz FSB to DDR5 5200 at 2600 MHz FSB, resulting in an increase in average FPS from 80 to 90 and minimum FPS from 90 to 99. Frequency increase memory up to DDR5 5600 and DDR5 6000 also gives a performance increase, but less noticeable.
| Hogwarts Legacy |
Testing was carried out at maximum quality settings with RT without frame generation.
in Hogwarts Legacy on a system consisting of a Ryzen 9 5950X processor and an ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard also increases with increasing memory and system bus frequencies, but this increase is not as significant as in previous games.
The biggest performance increase comes from moving from DDR5 4800 with a 2400 MHz FSB to DDR5 5200 with a 2600 MHz FSB, resulting in an increase in average FPS from 62 to 64 and minimum FPS from 71 to 74. Increasing the memory frequency to DDR5 5600 and DDR5 6000 also provides a performance increase, but less noticeable.
| The Last of Us Part I |
Testing was carried out at maximum quality settings.
The biggest performance increase in The Last of Us Part I comes from moving from DDR5 4800 at 2400 MHz FSB to DDR5 5200 at 2600 MHz FSB, resulting in an increase in average FPS from 92 to 95 and minimum FPS from 99 to 105. Increasing the memory frequency to DDR5 5600 and DDR5 6000 also gives a performance increase, and the increase is already noticeably larger than in previous games.
In general, from the analysis of performance in five different games on a system consisting of a Ryzen 9 7950X processor and an ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard, it can be concluded that gaming performance increases with increasing memory and system bus frequency, especially when using DDR5 memory high frequency. However, performance gains may vary depending on the specific game and other system components such as the graphics card and hard drive.
| CONCLUSION |
ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO is a top motherboard designed for building a gaming computer based on AMD Ryzen 7XXX generation processors. It uses socket AM5 and chipset X670. The motherboard is equipped with built-in Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, and also has a built-in SupremeFX ALC4082 audio codec with the ability to play high-resolution audio. It also supports PCIe 5.0 for faster data transfer between computer components.
The motherboard has two full slots for a PCIe x16 video card, as well as several M.2 slots for connecting solid state drives. There is support for DDR5 memory, as well as the ability to overclock the processor and memory through special tools in the BIOS.
All in all, the ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO is a powerful and advanced motherboard with a lot of options for building a gaming PC based on next-generation AMD Ryzen processors.
Advantages:
- Support for the latest AMD Ryzen processor and DDR5 memory.
- PCIe 5.0 support for faster data transfer between computer components.
- Built-in Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless connection.
- Availability of multiple high-speed PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots for connecting solid state drives.
Flaws:
- High price compared to other motherboards on the market.
